CHAPTER II Post # 10

THE BUSINESS PLAN

Every successful self-promotion campaign begins with a plan. You are the general of this campaign. You have to attack the markets with military precession.

FYI: Plan early.

A plan should include scheduling, budget, time and desire.
First decide what you want to do with your book. This might seem like a rhetorical question however most of us do not think of exactly what are our expectations for our book.
I don’t think there is anyone who would not love to see their book on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

Do you want to make selling your book a life long hobby?
I know one author who says she will be selling her book for the rest of her life.
Do you want to soft sell over a couple of years?
For those of us who have a full time job this might be the only option. Promoting on the weekends. Better still coordinate an extended vacation around the publishing date of your book.
Self-published or Print-On-Demand (POD) authors have that luxury.

If you have a brick and mortar publisher, like Dell, Random House or Simon & Schuster or any of the medium or smaller publishers your options will be limited. You will not have the luxury of a leisurely campaign. You have to start off with a big bang, a media blitz. You want to create what we affectionately call a BUZZ. Why? Because a book has a life span. Usually three months. If a book does not have legs, if it does not move off the shelves after three months it will be sent back to the publisher to make room for newer books. These books are the returns slated for the remainder pile. Returns are the ban of all authors. For authors and publishers there is no sight as sad as a box of their books with their covers ripped off heading back to the warehouse destined for the recycle bin. If there are no books in the bookstores then even an appearance on Good Morning America or Oprah will be for nought.

FYI: A book has the shelf-life of a banana.

Walk into any bookstore and look at all the books they are trying to sell. As important as you book is to you it is only one to the bookseller. You want to make them more aware of your book. Enroll them into helping you sell your book. Local and regional campaigns can be very successful at enrolling.